1. Field of the Invention.
This invention pertains to agricultural equipment, and more particularly to implements for handling baled hay.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
It has become increasingly popular in recent years to bale hay into cylindrical stacks or bales. Although cylindrical or round bales offer many advantages over traditional rectangular bales, the round bales are very heavy and difficult to handle.
Various types of equipment have been developed to transport round hay bales from the fields to a barn or other storage location. Examples of such implements may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,924,765; 4,249,842; 4,261,676; 4,498,829; 4,549,840; 4,630,986; and 4,718,806. In general, the devices of the foregoing patents comprise elongated wheeled trailers for holding and transporting the bales, means for loading the bales from the ground onto the trailer, and means for moving the loaded bales longitudinally along the trailer.
A major disadvantage of prior round bale handling equipment is that they must approach the bales in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the field is normally worked. As is well known, agricultural personnel prefer to work their fields in a single direction. In that way, any ruts formed in soft soil run in only that direction. Driving a tractor and other heavy equipment across the fields perpendicular to the direction of the ruts produces a very bumpy and uncomfortable ride and also tends to damage the machinery.
In addition, the machinery of the aforementioned patents do not have satisfactory means for unloading the bales from the respective trailers. Several of the prior art bale handlers have conveyors for moving the bales along the trailer. The conveyors can also be used to unload the bales, but only in conjunction with a forward motion of the trailer. Since it is highly desirable to minimize bale storage space, the operator must simultaneously advance the tractor and operate the conveyor in properly timed relationship to unload the bales in a tight row. Such a procedure requires skill and is time consuming. The bale carrier of U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,676 includes a bale supporting bed that tips to roll the bales transversely off the trailer. However, the bale supporting bed adds undesirable weight and complexity to that carrier.
Thus, a need exists for improved round bale handling machinery.